Christian Bale is an actor who has proved his mettle time and again. The actor has been a part of both indie movies and major franchises. He is a master of body transformations and method acting, delving into the role and adapting the character he plays completely, till he becomes them. He has managed to capture the hearts of the fans and amass a huge fandom.
The actor has been in the profession for a while, acting since he was a kid. Though it is not as commonly known, assessing his works it is believable that he just naturally was picked up by productions. But as a kid, the pressure of working on huge production got to him, and he wanted to quit due to a lack of normalcy in life.
Christian Bale wanted to quit acting
Christian Bale is a highly acclaimed actor, the man who has movies like American Psycho, The Machinist, and the Dark Knight trilogy. But all these roles might’ve gone to someone else if the actor had followed his wish of quitting acting after working on major productions as a kid.
Bale talked about how his acting career started. The actor claimed that he naturally fell into acting after doing small plays with his friends, which is evident seeing just how talented he is.
Christian Bale, in an interview with NJ, stated,
“I never took acting lessons or anything. It was more of a case of me just being interested in each thing as it came along, rather than thinking this was something I wanted to make a career of. But when I decided I did want to make a career of it, it didn’t shock my parents. What would have shocked them was if I wanted to put on a suit and tie and go 9 to 5.”
He realized very young that he wanted to be an actor but soon after he started feeling uneasy. The second major role that Bale grabbed was in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun. Working with the revolutionary director skyrocketed him to fame at just the age of 13. He revealed how the fame felt like “abuse” to him. He stated,
“I wasn’t happy. And, you know, I can’t help looking at it now and saying there’s a point at which a child acting just becomes abuse. I really think it can just kill all the enjoyment a child is getting from it, and I look at it now with unease. Maybe there are some wonderful people, but me, I always suspect someone who wants to make their money from children.”
The actor even as a teenager, later in his life, thought about quitting as he wanted a normal teenager’s life. It had become impossible for him to have that as being an actor brought him a lot of recognition. Also as he started making money at a young age and took on major responsibilities, he felt he kind of skipped the teenage phase in his life.
Christian Bale often wonders when his career might end
Christian Bale, in an interview with GQ, talking about his major roles, revealed that he often is left to wonder when his acting career might come to an end. It is obvious that the actor might now want to retire as he is almost 50 and has been in the profession for the majority of his life. Also, his habit of fully immersing himself in the roles he plays must be exhausting.
He shared in an interview with GQ,
“I’ve always been bent on ‘When’s this gonna end? This has to end.’ I like doing things that have nothing to do with film. And I find myself very happily not playing dress-up, not pretending to be somebody else for long lengths of time”
“Look, me and a couple of friends, we were kinda doing these little skits. But every kid does. Every kid acts a little bit in that way. And then, just, I found myself in the position that family things…finding I can support the family through doing it: That’s why I’m doing it. And I do have an absolute love/hate relationship with it.”
Christian Bale has often had thoughts of quitting but he does love acting so he has stayed in the business. His last role was in MCU’s Thor: Love and Thunder as Gorr the God Butcher; his portrayal, despite the project’s critical failure, was appreciated and the film was panned by critics for not giving the actor enough screen time.
Thor: Love and Thunder is streaming on Disney+.
